It is almost December, just a few minutes away, my first December since graduating from Culinary School not spend working… I keep thinking sometimes… what am I doing? How ironic after all these years, finally on top of my profession, with not many mysteries left and some solid knowledge to be successful… to stop working! It just does not make sense sometimes… but I cannot go back as much as I miss the kitchen, this is one chance of a lifetime to extend a Journey over 6 months. I know that I have been on the road only a bit over a month, but I have never thought about turning back!… and I could have.. I never wrote about 2 new contracts that have been offered to me since I have left! As much as my passion remains for my profession… going back always seems like a dark tunnel with no daylight.

Today was, what I call a catch up day. A multitude of "things" to do that accumulates… laundry, organizing, downloading the GPS with new maps, that sort of things as my time here remains at one day.

I will be pushing West… toward the vast lands. I had thought about staying East for a while, but my plans have been rearranged and the need is not there anymore… I am so drawn to the vast open spaces, it will not be the first time and not the last. The ability to actually live in one place for a few days or a few weeks suddenly is so appealing. It is the first time that I adventure myself in this fashion. The past has always seen me on the go… ride, ride, ride… only seeing the peripheral attractions which stood up in travelers brochures and magazines… I want to taste and experience the unadvertised paths which need to be discovered!

I want to unpack everything I have… cook… ride… discover the back roads daily, suddenly the knowledge that I am pushing west further has almost given me a new life… there just is so much on the road to share with you all, and strange enough… as much as I want to be there… I don’t want to get there… afraid to miss what lays in between! I should be in Texas by tomorrow, it is 33 degrees here this am in New Iberia, Louisiana!… I know the northerners reading this are probably smiling, I am not complaining, I actually like the cold better than heat, this does however slow down the amount of outdoor activities, specially with Spirit.

Regardless of the mechanical break downs I have had, this first month has been a great trial time… and everyone in my path has been so kind and hospitable, I could not ask for more. If the rest of my Journey includes people as I have just spend time with, well, I will consider myself being the luckiest person alive!

Friendships and human relations have always been for me the key of life. You know the classic saying… "money can’t buy…". How true it is, and how great it is when, strangers at first, we can spark such positive emotions into each other’s hearts.

I hope, as I leave here, that my Internet connections are many on the road followed! I enjoy posting these reports along the way.

You be well… enjoy your day… looking up the sky will always make you smile… try it.

Ara and Spirit.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 1st, 2006 at 5:02 am and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.